Chanukah and Purim differ drastically in their manner of observance and in the message that they convey. The Mitzvot of Purim revolve around the “physical” — we feast, drink, give gifts of food, and charity. The message is clear: they tried to destroy us, so we celebrate by highlighting our continued physical existence. There is only one unique Mitzvah of Chanukah: to kindle a light. Sure we have parties, eat latkes, and play draidel, but those are only customs. The only specific action mandated by Jewish law is to kindle a light, to publicize the miracle of Chanukah (we...
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Chanukah – The Big Miracle
One of the most famous questions related to Chanukah is as follows: Since the Jews had sufficient oil to burn for one day, then the miracle is that that oil burned for an additional seven. Why do we celebrate the miracle for eight days? There are many answers to this questions. A few of them are: the first day was celebrated for the miracle of the military victory the fact that they even found one tiny flask of pure oil was itself a miracle. they only added an eighth of the oil each day I’d like to share with...
Making Miracles
According to the Kabbalah, there are two types of miracles. One kind of miracle comes from “above”, with no participation from “below”. An example of this are all the miracles surrounding the exodus from Egypt. The Jews sat passively while God reaked havoc on Egypt. The second kind of miracle is started “below” and is completed or fullfiled from “above”. The primary example of this kind of miracle is Chanukah. The Jews took up arms against their oppressors, and then God granted them victory over overwhelming odds. The Jews lit the Menorah in the Temple with only a tiny...
Chanukah-Counting Money
In its discussion about the laws of Chanukah, the Talmud states that it is forbidden to use the light of the menorah to count one’s money, for doing so denigrates the importance of the mitzvah of the lights. This halacha teaches us a very deep lesson. Chanukah teaches us that miracles do happen. God is in control of our destinies, not us. Just the other night, sitting in front of the menorah, I started worrying about my own financial situation. How was I going to take control of my financial destiny? It’s all totally in my hands, right? Then...
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